Narrowly sidestepping oblivion when General Motors emerged from bankruptcy in 2010, the Buick brand has since set out to make itself relevant again, scoring some moderate gains with an assortment of small, medium and large SUVs. But the big challenge has been reaching younger, hipper buyers for whom Buick remains all but invisible.

That just might happen with the latest entry into the Buick line-up, the new Regal GS taking direct aim at some of the latest import hot hatches. Making a solid 310 horsepower and 282 pound-feet of torque, it actually delivers a bit more power than the new Honda Civic Type-R, in fact. And the Regal RS sends torque to all four wheels, rather than just the front two.

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“With the all-new 2018 Regal GS, we set out to make a driver-focused, engaging and entertaining sport sedan without sacrificing the smooth ride and refined character expected of any modern Buick,” said Martin Hayes, the chief engineer for the five-door sportback.

Opel designer Mark Adams rehearses his line before the Geneva debut of the Opel Insignia.

Opel could definitely use a lift. The once-grand European automaker has been struggling for years, and it didn’t help when General Motors announced last month that it was likely to sell the German-based brand to France’s PSA.

That deal was announced just a day before the opening of the annual Geneva Motor Show, but as far as Opel was concerned, the big news was the launch of two critical new products, the Crossland X crossover, and the newly redesigned Insignia.

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The latter sedan is, in itself, particularly important because it not only lands a new family sedan in product-hungry Opel showrooms, but it also offers a strong hint of what’s to come when GM’s Buick brand unveils its own Regal sedan at the New York International Auto Show next month.

Opel's past and present debut together: the new Crossland X and the made-over Insignia.

When General Motors and PSA announced terms for the sale of the long-troubled Opel earlier this week, they said they expect to complete the deal later this year.

From a legal standpoint, barring some last-minute regulatory challenges, that’s likely to happen. But while the hand-off will be formalized, on paper, the long ties between GM and Opel will likely continue well into the coming decade.

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A full separation “is going to be (over an) extended period of time,” GM President Dan Ammann told TheDetroitBureau.com during a conversation at the Geneva Motor Show.

Consumer Reports recently gave the Buick Regal a glowing review, putting it in a tie for second-best vehicle in its segment.

Buick was at death’s door just a few years ago. A staid image and a mandate to cut down the number of brands in its portfolio, it looked like General Motors’ oldest nameplate would be heading to the scrap heap of automotive history.

However, GM surprised everyone by keeping Buick and repositioning the brand. And now those efforts are paying off in spades as Consumer Reports recently gave the Buick Regal a big pat on the back and sales of the Regal and the brand are both up double digits.

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Consumer Reports, after testing the Regal and the new Volvo S60, described both cars as serious competition for the more prestigious competitors from BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Apparently, the magazine was a bit late to the party as Regal sales are up nearly 40% through the first half of this year. Buick’s overall sales are up 12.5% in the first half of the year. (more…)

General Motors expects to build 500,000 vehicles with some level of electrification in the next five years. Many of them will have GM's eAssist light electrification system.

Despite poor sales of the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle, GM says it is committed to building hundreds of thousands of electrified vehicles in the next five years.

Mary Barra, senior vice president of global product development for GM, said besides plug-in technology such as in the Volt, GM will also add its eAssist mild hybrid system to more models. In fact, by 2017, GM expects to have as many as 500,000 vehicles on the road with some form of electrification.

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“The plug-in offers a unique opportunity to change the way people commute,” Mary Barra, senior vice president of Global Product Development told media attending the GM Electrification Experience in San Francisco. “Plug-based solutions will play a significant role in our technology portfolio going forward.”

The first new midsize convertible for Vauxhall since the 1930s might also become a new droptop in the Buick line-up.

There are some definite benefits to going global, especially if you’re a small brand long starved of product. So is the case with Buick, which not all that long ago had to suffer through life with just three aging product lines but is now rapidly fleshing out its showroom.

And there are signs that the next model to come aboard will be a Buick droptop.

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That, at least is the speculation surrounding what will first appear in the form of the Vauxhall Cascada Convertible. Though not scheduled for showing at the upcoming Paris Motor Show, General Motors is offering up a teaser image of the new droptop – perhaps to offset growing calls for the maker to sell off its money-losing Opel/Vauxhall subsidiary and show there really is a turnaround plan in place.

Despite its long absence, perhaps no Buick nameplate has better name recognition than the old Riviera, in its day one of the most widely celebrated of General Motors models.

The last model died an ignominious death. But could GM be planning to bring the Riviera back? The fact that the maker has filed to trademark the name suggests that just might be what it has in mind. It could be a perfect fit in a brand that in the midst of a once-unlikely revival.

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And it wouldn’t be the first time Buick has dropped hints that the Riviera still has a place in the line-up. A concept model was introduced in China, five years ago, generating significant praise. But the timing couldn’t have been worse, coming just as GM started its head-long plunge into a 2009 bankruptcy.

Buick will drop the conventionally-powered I-4 version of its Regal model, making the “mild” hybrid eAssist the standard powertrain for the compact sedan starting in 2013.

That’s the same strategy that the maker has taken with the midsize Buick LaCrosse. In the smaller Regal, the gas-electric driveline delivers as much as 36 mpg on the highway, according to the EPA.

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Meanwhile, the mid-luxury General Motors brand has announced it will introduce a new automatic gearbox for the sporty, turbocharged version of the compact sedan, the Regal GS. Until now, it has only been available with a six-speed stick, a sales-limiting factor in today’s U.S. market.

Chevrolet offers a hint of what's coming with the launch of the all-new Malibu sedan.

Chevrolet is getting ready to roll out an all-new version of its Malibu sedan – but in an interesting turn reflecting the realities of the new automotive world order, the new 2012 model will be making its formal debut not at the upcoming New York Auto Show but at the year’s big motor show in Shanghai – with an appearance at the Big Apple’s Jacob Javits convention center to follow.

The teaser shot shown here provides a glimpse of the new car’s taillights, which also reflect some of the realities of the new GM, a more intriguing, squared-off shape, influenced by the Camaro, populated by what appear to be LED bulbs.

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Along with a more modern and – one hopes – more visually appealing design, General Motors reveals that the new sedan will be a bit wider than the outgoing Malibu. That’s all the more noteworthy considering it will ride on the smaller Epsilon II platform which, for those familiar with GM nomenclature, is shared with several other global models, including the new Buick Regal.

The 2012 Buick Verano rolls onto the stage during its Detroit Auto Show unveiling.

It’s a Cruze, it’s a Regal….no, it’s the Verano.

The 2012 Buick Verano shares its platform with the Chevrolet Cruze and its engines with the larger Buick Regal, but despite those facts, Buick folks are quick to point out that the Verano isn’t just an exercise in badge engineering, a la the old GM.

They’ll tell you that the Verano offers more amenities than the Cruze, along with a quieter cabin and more luxurious ride. And while we haven’t driven it yet — meaning we can’t verify the latter two claims — we have to admit that the proffered amenities list is deeper than that of the Cruze.

That doesn’t mean customers won’t need convincing. It’s true that Lexus ES 350 customers, for example, often know that they’re buying a more-opulent Camry, but they don’t seem to care.

With GM, it’s a different story. The “old GM” often took heat for having too many badge-engineered vehicles – for the uninitiated, products that are virtually identical but for the nameplates bolted to their trunks. To that end, the company has worked hard to differentiate vehicles that share platforms, and the Verano represents the latest effort.